Device for Displaying in Response to a Sensed Motion

ABSTRACT

A device includes a signaling means and a motion sensor, and logic for activating or controlling the signaling means in response to a sensed motion according to an embedded logic. The device may be used as a toy, and may be shaped like a play ball or as a handheld unit. It may be powered from a battery, either chargeable from an AC power source directly or contactless by using induction or by converting electrical energy from harvested kinetic energy. The embedded logic may activate or control the signaling means, predictably or randomly, in response to sensed acceleration magnitude or direction, such as sensing the crossing of a preset threshold or sensing the peak value. The visual means may be a numeric display for displaying a value associated with the count of the number of times the threshold has been exceeded or the peak magnitude of the acceleration sensed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and methodincluding a motion sensing and an annunciator responding to the sensedmotion, and more particularly, to a toy or any other amusing deviceincluding a motion sensor and an annunciator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A ball is a round, generally spherical shaped object, but sometimesovoid, with various uses. In a ball game, the play of the game followsthe state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Ballcan also be used for simpler activities, such as catch, marbles andjuggling Simple balls are commonly formed of flexible plastic material,while others use synthetic leather. Various ball games are known foramusement, sport and other recreation activities, are played with a ballor balls, and are subject to rules, such as cricket, baseball,basketball, football, soccer, tennis, rugby, golf, volleyball andothers. Examples of balls used in game balls are illustrated in FIG. 1 ,showing a soccer (a.k.a. football outside of the U.S.) ball 1, commonlyconsisting of twelve regular pentagonal and twenty regular hexagonalpanels positioned in a truncated icosahedron spherical geometry, andmade up of a latex bladder which enables the football to be pressurized.A basketball ball 2 is shown as a sphere shaped inflated ball used inthe game of basketball. A ball 3 is used in volleyball is a spherical,made of leather or synthetic leather ball, having a circumference of65-67 cm and a weight of 260-280 grams. A prolate spheroid(‘egg-shaped’) ball 4 is used in U.S. football game, and a golf ball 5is used for the game of golf. Tennis balls such as ball 6 are commonlycovered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamicproperties. Examples of golf balls are described in U.S. Pat. No.4,653,758 to Solheim, U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,098 to Molitor et al., U.S.Patent Application Publication 2002/0034991 to Sasaki et al. and U.S.Patent Application Publication 2003/0125135 to Iwami, all titled: “GolfBall” and incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein.

One example of a prior-art pet toy that comprises a ball that has anopening and an exit and used for treat dispensing, having soundrecording and playback is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,671 toHenenbruck titled: “Treat Dispensing Toy”, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Anotherprior-art food dispensing treat pet toy is described in U.S. Pat. No.7,832,362 to DeGhionno titled: “Lightweight, Hollow, Reusable,Food-Dispensing Treat Toy and Combination of Food-Dispensing Treat Toywith an Enclosing Container Designed for Intellectual Stimulation,Enrichment and Amusement of Animals, and Reduction of Boredom orSeparation Anxiety That May Lead to Destructive or Undesirable Behaviorin Puppies and/or Other Animals”, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein. An impact sensitivetalking ball including a plunger that operates a test switch when theball is squeezed in described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,839 to Paganititled: “Impact Sensitive Talking Ball”, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A game ball witha timer or clock is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,887 to Oister etal. titled: “Game Ball with Clock”, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In consideration of the foregoing, it would be an advancement in the artto provide a method and system that is simple, cost-effective, faithful,reliable, has a minimum part count, minimum hardware, or uses existingand available components for providing additional amusement, education,entertainment and a better user experience relating to a device such asa ball game, toy and the like, preferably without departing from theconventional ‘look and feel’ of a common toy or ball. Further, it wouldbe advantageous if such a toy or ball provides added educational valueand stimulus for playing, adding to the user experience more curiosityand excitement, as well as added pleasure and amusement and making thetoy more versatile and attractive to play with, while being easy toconstruct and manufacture, robust and consistent in aesthetic appearanceand function, and preferably without significantly departing from theconventional ‘look and feel’ of such a toy or a ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a device for signaling in response to asensed motion is described. The device may be housed in a singleenclosure, and may include an accelerometer for sensing the deviceacceleration, an annunciator for signaling to a person or an animalusing visual or audible signaling, and a controller coupled between theaccelerometer and the annunciator for activating or controlling theannunciator in response to the sensed device acceleration according to apredetermined logic. A power source is included that may power theelectrical components such as the accelerometer, the annunciator, thecontroller and any other power-consuming components. Each of theannunciator, the power source, the accelerometer, the controller andother of the device components may be mechanically attached to theenclosure.

The power source may include a primary or a rechargeable battery housedin a battery compartment secured in the device enclosure. The batterycompartment may be accessed for replacing the battery via an opening inthe enclosure, by removing a securely removable cover, which may behaving a perforated front surface covering a mating aperture being flushwith the surface surrounding the aperture. A power connector on theexternal surface of the enclosure may be used for connecting to a powersource or for charging the battery using a battery charger. The chargingmay use a DC power from a domestic AC power outlet providing ACpowering, using an AC/DC adapter comprising a step-down transformer andan AC/DC converter. In one aspect of the invention, the device ispowered from a generator that converts the kinetic energy of the deviceto an electrical energy, such as by using a coil and a magnetic field,which their relative movement is generated in response to the devicemotion. The device may be powered or charged contactlessly usinginduction. In this case, the device further includes an induction coilfor wirelessly receiving AC power and charging the rechargeable batterywhen the device is put in an electromagnetic field.

The accelerometer may be piezoelectric, piezoresistive, capacitive, MEMSor electromechanical switch accelerometer, measuring the magnitude andthe direction of the device acceleration in a single-axis, 2-axis or3-axis (omnidirectional).

The device may include one or more annunciators. Each annunciator may bea visual or an audible signaling component (or both), operated orcontrolled by the controller. An annunciator may further contain a smokegenerator.

The visual signaling component may contain a visible light emitter basedon a semiconductor device (e.g. LED—Light Emitting Diode), anincandescent lamp or a fluorescent lamp. The illumination may beblinking or steady, and can further be used to illuminate part of or allof an image. The visible light emitter positioning, appearance, type,color or steadiness may be associated with the device theme or deviceshape. The visible light emitter may be a numerical or an alphanumericaldisplay, capable of displaying numbers, letters, symbols, words orcharacters, which may be displayed as scrolling, static, bold orflashing. The visible light emitter may be a video or image display andmay be based on LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), TFT (Thin-FilmTransistor), FED (Field Emission Display) or CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).

The audible signaling device may be based on electromechanical orpiezoelectric means capable of generating single or multiple tones, andcan be a buzzer, a chime or a ringer. In one aspect of the invention,the audible signaling device comprises a loudspeaker and a digital toanalog converter coupled to the loudspeaker. The volume, type,steadiness, pitch, rhythm, dynamics, timbre or texture of the soundemitted from the audible signaling device may be associated with thedevice theme or the device shape. Alternatively, the sound emitted fromthe audible signaling device is a song or a melody, wherein the song ormelody name or content relates to the device theme or shape. In oneaspect, the sound emitted from the audible signaling device is a humanvoice talking sounding of a syllable, a word, a phrase, a sentence, ashort story or a long story, using speech synthesis or beingpre-recorded.

In one aspect of the invention, the annunciator can be in one out of twostates, and wherein the annunciator state is in response to an eventdefined by the sensed acceleration magnitude or direction exceeding apredefined value. An annunciator state may involve activating it bysupplying power from the power supply via a switch, while the otherstate involves deactivating it by disconnecting the power supply. Thecontrol logic is operative to shift the annunciator between states untilthe next event occurs or for a predetermined period in response to anevent or in response to a preset number of events. Further, theannunciator may toggle between states in response to an event or to apreset number of events. The annunciator may also continuously togglebetween states, wherein the period in each state, the togglingfrequency, the toggling period or the duty-cycle is affected as aresponse to an event or in response to the number of counted events.Alternatively or in addition, the annunciator may be in one out of amultiple states in response to an event. The annunciator may includemultiple components, and the annunciator states may be defined asactivating or powering a selected one (or more) of its components. Inresponse to an event or multiple events, the annunciator state may shiftbetween states according to a predictable or random order.

In one aspect of the invention, the controller is used to activate (ordeactivate) or control the annunciator based on the sensed motionmeasured by the accelerometer. The control may use controlling theannunciator powering or via a dedicated control port of the annunciator.The controller may be based on a discrete logic or an integrated device,such as a processor, microprocessor or microcomputer, and may include ageneral-purpose device or may be a special purpose processing device,such as an ASIC, PAL, PLA, PLD, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA),Gate Array, or other customized or programmable device, and may includesa memory that may include a static RAM (random Access Memory), dynamicRAM, flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), or any other data storagemedium. The memory may include data, programs, and/or instructions andany other software or firmware executable by the processor. The controllogic can be implemented in hardware or in software, such as a firmwarestored in the memory.

In one aspect, the annunciator activation or control use randomnessusing a random signal generator. The random signal generator may bebased on a digital random signal generator having a digital output.Alternatively, the random signal generator may be based on analog randomsignal generator having an analog output. Analog random signal generatormay use a digital random signal generator whose output is converted toanalog using analog to digital converter, or can use a repetitive analogsignal generator (substantially not synchronized to any other timing inthe system) whose output is randomly time sampled by a sample and hold.A random signal generator (having either analog or digital output) canbe hardware based, using a physical process such as thermal noise, shotnoise, nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric effect or other quantumphenomena, or can be software based, using a processor executing analgorithm for generating pseudo-random numbers which approximates theproperties of random numbers.

The device may be substantially sphere shaped similar to play ball, andmay be used as a toy for the amusement of a person or a pet. The ballshape may be similar to cricket, baseball, basketball, football, soccer,tennis, rugby, golf, or volleyball play ball. Alternatively, the devicemay be shaped as a handheld unit including two disks attached to bothends of a rod.

The activation or control of the annunciator may be as a response to thecombination of the direction or the magnitude of the sensedacceleration, or a combination thereof. One or multiple accelerationthresholds may be defined, and the device may be operative to activateor control the annunciator as a response to the magnitude of the sensedacceleration exceeding one or more of the acceleration thresholds. Thedevice may further comprise a counter, such as an electromechanicalcounter, mechanical counter, hardware counter or software-based counter,for counting events for counting the times that the magnitude of thesensed acceleration exceeds an acceleration threshold, and according tothe counter value to activate or control the annunciator. Theannunciator may be a numerical display for displaying a representationof the counter value, or a loudspeaker for saying a representation ofthe counter value. The device may further comprise a peak-detector and astorage for detecting and storing a peak value of the sensedacceleration, and the annunciator may be activated or controlledaccording to the measured peak value. The annunciator may be a numericaldisplay for displaying a representation of the peak value, or aloudspeaker for saying a representation of the peak value.

In one aspect, the motion sensor detects or measures the tilt angle ofthe device and the acceleration along the tilt angle, and theannunciator is activated or controlled in response to the sensed tiltangle value and the sensed acceleration magnitude in the tilt axis. Thedevice may further operate the annunciator where one parameter of theannunciator is activated or controlled in response to the sensed tiltangle value, while another parameter of the annunciator is activated orcontrolled in response to the acceleration magnitude in the tilt axis.The annunciator may include an audible signaling component where eitherthe sensed tilt angle value or the sensed acceleration magnitude in thetilt axis affects one or more of the volume, type, frequency,steadiness, pitch, rhythm, dynamics, timbre or texture of the soundemitted from the audible signaling component. Further, the emitted soundmay resemble or accurately be the sound of a musical instrument such asdrums, piano, tuba, harp, violin, flute or guitar.

The above summary is not an exhaustive list of all aspects of thepresent invention. Indeed, the inventor contemplates that his inventionincludes all systems and methods that can be practiced from all suitablecombinations and derivatives of the various aspects summarized above, aswell as those disclosed in the detailed description below andparticularly pointed out in the claims filed with the application. Suchcombinations have particular advantages not specifically recited in theabove summary.

It is understood that other embodiments of the present invention willbecome readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description, wherein are shown and described only embodimentsof the invention by way of illustration. As will be realized, theinvention is capable of other and different embodiments and its severaldetails are capable of modification in various other respects, allwithout departing from the scope of the present invention as defined bythe claims. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to beregarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more fully apparent from the following description, drawingsand appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the inventionas set forth hereinafter. It is intended that all such additionalapparatus and advantages be included within this description, be withinthe scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

The preferred embodiments of the invention presented here are describedbelow in the drawings and the detailed specification. Unlessspecifically noted, it is intended that the words and phrases in thespecification and the claims be given the plain, ordinary and accustomedmeaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. If any otherspecial meaning is intended for any word or phrase, the specificationwill clearly state and define the special meaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention is herein described, by way of non-limiting examples only,with reference to the accompanying figures and drawings, wherein likedesignations denote like elements. Understanding that these drawingsonly provide information concerning typical embodiments of the inventionand are not therefore to be considered limiting in scope:

FIG. 1 depicts various shapes of game balls;

FIG. 2 illustrates an electrical schematic block diagram of a deviceaccording to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 a illustrates an electrical schematic block diagram of aprocessor-based control block according to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an electrical schematic block diagram of activatingan annunciator according to one aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b depict schematically a ball-shaped device including anLED in an example according to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an electrical schematic block diagram of an AC powercharging device according to one aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b depict schematically a ball-shaped device including aLED and AC power recharging in an example according to one aspect of theinvention;

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b depict schematically a ball-shaped device including aspeaker in an example according to one aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 7 a, 7 b, 7 c and 7 e depict schematically exploded views of aball-shaped device including a speaker and inductive battery chargingsystem in an example according to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 7 d depicts schematically a ball-shaped device including a speakercapable of inductive battery charging in an example according to oneaspect of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an electrical schematic block diagram of kinetic toelectrical energy charging device according to one aspect of theinvention;

FIG. 8 a illustrates an electrical schematic block diagram inductivelycharging device according to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 9 depicts schematically a ball-shaped device including a numericaldisplay in an example according to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 10 depicts schematically an exploded view of an example of ahandheld device according to one aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 10 a, 10 b and 10 c depict schematically front, side and rearviews of an example of a handheld device according to one aspect of theinvention;

FIG. 10 d depicts schematically the use of a handheld device accordingto one aspect of the invention; and

FIGS. 11 a and 11 b depict schematically views of an example of a tiltedhandheld device according to one aspect of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The principles and operation of an apparatus according to the presentinvention may be understood with reference to the figures and theaccompanying description wherein similar components appearing indifferent figures are denoted by identical reference numerals. Thedrawings and descriptions are conceptual only. In actual practice, asingle component can implement one or more functions; alternatively,each function can be implemented by a plurality of components anddevices. In the figures and descriptions, identical reference numeralsindicate those components that are common to different embodiments orconfigurations. Identical numerical references (even in the case ofusing a different suffix, such as 5, 5 a, 5 b and 5 c) refer tofunctions or actual devices that are either identical, substantiallysimilar, or having similar functionality. It will be readily understoodthat the components of the present invention, as generally described andillustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in awide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following moredetailed description of the embodiments of the apparatus, system, andmethod of the present invention, as represented in the figures herein,is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but ismerely representative of embodiments of the invention.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specificationdiscussions, utilizing terms such as “processing”, “computing”,“calculating”, “determining”, “generating”, “creating” or the like,refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system,or processor or similar electronic computing device, that manipulateand/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic,quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories intoother data, similarly represented as physical quantities within thecomputing system's memories, registers or other such informationstorage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments of the present invention may use terms such as processor,computer, apparatus, system, sub-system, module, unit and/or device (insingle or plural form) for performing the operations herein. This may bespecially constructed for the desired purpose, or it may comprise ageneral purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by acomputer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may bestored in a computer readable storage medium such as, but not limitedto, any type of disk including, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-opticaldisks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs),electrically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electricallyerasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic oroptical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storingelectronic instructions, and capable of being coupled to a computersystem bus.

The processes/devices (or counterpart terms specified above) anddisplays presented herein are not inherently related to any particularcomputer or other apparatus, unless specifically stated otherwise.Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordancewith the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct amore specialized apparatus to perform the desired method. The desiredstructure for a variety of these systems will appear in the descriptionbelow. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are notdescribed with reference to any particular programming language. It willbe appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used toimplement the teachings of the inventions as described herein.

All directional references used herein (e.g., upper, lower, upwards,downwards, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below,vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise, etc.) are onlyused for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding ofthe present invention, and do not create limitations, particularly as tothe position, orientation, or use of the invention.

While the devices herein are described as connected using wires orconductors, any type of conductive transmission line can be equallyused. The terms ‘wire’, ‘conductor’, ‘line’, ‘transmission line’,‘cable’, ‘wiring’, ‘wire pair’ as used herein should be interpreted toinclude any type of conductive transmission-line, and specifically ametallic transmission line comprising two or more conductors used tocarry electrical signals. Non-limiting examples are coaxial cable, PCB(Printed Circuit Board) connections and twisted pair, the latterincluding both UTP (Unshielded Twisted-Pair) and STP (shieldedtwisted-pair), as well as connections within Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs). Similarly, any PAN (Personal Area Network),LAN (Local Area Network), MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) or WAN (WideArea Network) wiring may be used as the wired medium.

A device 10 according to one aspect of the invention is described inFIG. 2 . The device 10 includes a motion sensor 11, feeding the sensedmotion information to a processing/control block 12, which operatesannunciator 13 in response to the motion sensed by the motion sensor 11.The device is power fed from a power supply 14. The motion sensor 11detects and measures the change in position of the device 10 withrespect to time. The motion sensor 10 may include one or moreaccelerometers, which measures the absolute acceleration or theacceleration relative to freefall. For example, one single-axisaccelerometer per axis may be used, requiring three such accelerometersfor three-axis sensing. The motion sensor 11 may be a single ormulti-axis sensor, detecting the magnitude and direction of theacceleration as a vector quantity, and thus can be used to senseorientation, acceleration, vibration, shock and falling. The motionsensor 11 output may be analog or digital signals, representing themeasured values.

The motion sensor 11 may be based on a piezoelectric accelerometer thatutilizes the piezoelectric effect of certain materials to measuredynamic changes in mechanical variables (e.g., acceleration, vibration,and mechanical shock). Piezoelectric accelerometers commonly rely onpiezoceramics (e.g., lead zirconate titanate) or single crystals (e.g.,quartz, tourmaline) Piezoelectric quartz accelerometer is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 7,716,985 to Zhang et al. entitled: “Piezoelectric QuartzAccelerometer”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,755 to Offenberg entitled:“Accelerometer Sensor of Crystalline Material and Method forManufacturing the Same” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,786 to Le Traon et al.entitled: “Monolithic Accelerometric Transducer”, which are allincorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor 11 may be basedon the Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS, a.k.a. Micro-mechanicalelectrical systems) technology. A MEMS based motion sensor is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,729 to Axelrod et al. entitled: “Accelerometer”,U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,212 to McNie et al. entitled: “Micro-Machining” andin U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,876 to Mehregany entitled: “Three-axisAccelerometers and Fabrication Methods”, which are all incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. An exampleof MEMS motion sensor is LIS302DL manufactured by STMicroelectronics NVand described in Data-sheet LIS302DL STMicroelectronics NV, ‘MEMS motionsensor 3-axis-±2 g/±8 g smart digital output “piccolo” accelerometer’,Rev. 4, October 2008, which is incorporated in its entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor 11 may be based on anelectrical tilt and vibration switch or any other electromechanicalswitch, such as the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,326,866 toWhitmore et al. entitled: “Omnidirectional Tilt and vibration sensor”,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein. An example of an electromechanical switch is SQ-SEN-200available from SignalQuest, Inc. of Lebanon, N.H., USA, described in thedata-sheet ‘DATASHEET SQ-SEN-200 Omnidirectional Tilt and VibrationSensor’ Updated 2009 Aug. 3, which is incorporated in its entirety forall purposes as if fully set forth herein. Other types of motion sensorsmay be equally used, such as devices based on piezoelectric,piezoresistive and capacitive components to convert the mechanicalmotion into an electrical signal. Using an accelerometer to control isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,774,155 to Sato et al. entitled:“Accelerometer-Based Controller”, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The annunciator 13 may include one or more visual or audible signalingcomponents, or any other devices that indicates a status to the person.In one embodiment according to the invention, the annunciator 13includes a visual signaling device. In one example, the deviceilluminates a visible light, such as a Light-Emitting-Diode (LED), oruses a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) which uses changes in thereflectivity in an applied electric field. The LED may be a multi-colorLED, such as LED Part No. 08L5015RGBC available from RSR Electronics,Inc. from NJ, U.S.A., described in Data-sheet Multi Color LED Part No.08L5015RGBC, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes asif fully set forth herein. However, any type of visible electric lightemitter such as a flashlight, an incandescent lamp and compactfluorescent lamps can be used. Multiple light emitters may be used, andthe illumination may be steady, blinking or flashing, eitherindependently or under the control of the control block 12. Further, theillumination can be directed for lighting a surface, such as a surfaceincluding an image or a picture. Further, a single single-state visualindicator may be used to provide multiple indications, for example byusing different colors (of the same visual indicator), differentintensity levels, variable duty-cycle and so forth. Further, the visualsignaling may be associated with the device 10 function, theme or shape.Such conceptual relationship may include, for example, the lightemitters' brightness, appearance, location, type, color and steadinessthat are influenced by the device 10 theme, providing a surprising andillustrative result. In one example, the annunciator 13 is based on anumerical digital display that provides readings in the form of numbers.For example, the annunciator 13 may use the quadruple digits,seven-segments, LED display Part No.: LTC-3610G available from Lite-OnElectronics, Inc., and described in Lite-On Electronics, Inc.,Publication BNS-OD-C131/A4 downloaded March 2011, which is incorporatedin its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.Similarly, the annunciator 13 is based on an alphanumerical digitaldisplay that provides readings in the form of characters, includingnumbers, letters or symbols. For example, the annunciator 13 may use thequadruple digits, seven-segments, LED display Part No.: LTM-8647ACavailable from Lite-On Electronics, Inc., and described in Lite-OnElectronics, Inc., Publication BNS-OD-C131/A4 downloaded March 2011,which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

The invention can be similarly used to display word messages in avariety of fashions and formats, such as scrolling, static, bold andflashing. The device 10 can further display visual display materialbeyond words and characters, such as arrows, symbols, ASCII andnon-ASCII characters, still images such as pictures and video. Theannunciator 13 may use any electronic display or any other output deviceused for presentation of visual information. The display may be adigital or analog video display, and may use technologies such as LCD(Liquid Crystal Display), TFT (Thin-Film Transistor), FED (FieldEmission Display), CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or any other electronic screentechnology that visually shows information such as graphics or text. Inmany cases, an adaptor (not shown) is required in order to connect ananalog display to the digital data. For example, the adaptor may convertto composite video (PAL, NTSC) or S-Video or HDTV signal. Analogdisplays are commonly using interfaces such as composite video such asNTSC, PAL or SECAM formats. Similarly, analog RGB, VGA (Video GraphicsArray), SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), SCART, S-video and otherstandard analog interfaces can be used. Further, personal computermonitors, plasma or flat panel displays, CRT, DLP display or a videoprojector may be equally used. Standard digital interfaces such as anIEEE1394 interface, also known as FireWire™, may be used. Other digitalinterfaces that can be used are USB, SDI (Serial Digital Interface),FireWire, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (DigitalVisual Interface), UDI (Unified Display Interface), DisplayPort, DigitalComponent Video and DVB (Digital Video Broadcast).

In one example, the device is used for sound or music generation, suchas a music toy instrument. The sensed motion may be associated with amusical tune (or a tone) or any other single sound, which is played uponactivation of the music-associated annunciator 13. A timbre soundelement may also be used to select the timbre or other tonalcharacteristics of the output sounds. The sign of the musical tune to beplayed by the device 10 is printed, engraved or labeled on the deviceexternal surface. Further, the sound produced by an annunciator canemulate the sounds of a conventional acoustical music instruments, suchas a piano, tuba, harp, violin, flute, guitar and so forth. Further, thedevice 10 can be shaped as a miniature of the music instrumentassociated with its sound.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the annunciator includesan audible signaling device, emitting audible sounds that can be heard(having frequency components in the 20-20,000 Hz band). In one example,the device is a buzzer (or beeper), a chime, a whistler or a ringer.Buzzers are known in the art and are either electromechanical orceramic-based piezoelectric sounders which make a high-pitch noise. Thesounder may emit a single or multiple tones, and can be in continuous orintermittent operation. In another example, the sounder simulates thevoice of a human being or generates music, typically by using anelectronic circuit having a memory for storing the sounds (e.g., click,gong, music, song, voice message, etc.), a digital to analog converterto reconstruct the electrical representation of the sound and driver fordriving a loudspeaker, which is an electro-acoustical transducer thatconverts an electrical signal to sound. An example of a greeting cardproviding music and mechanical movement is disclosed in U.S. PatentApplication 2007/0256337 to Segan entitled: “User Interactive GreetingCard”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein. A ‘Gong’ sound may be generated using SAE 800from Siemens, described in Data-sheet ProgrammableSingle-/Dual-/Triple-Tone Gong, SAE 800, Siemens semiconductor Group,02.05,”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein.

The audible signaling may be associated with the motion sensed by thedevice 10, as well as its theme or shape. For example, the sounderappearance, as well as the sound volume, type and steadiness may beinfluenced by the theme, providing a surprising and illustrative result.For example, the shape may include a household appliance associated witha specific sound such as the ringing of a telephone set, the buzzer ofthe entrance bell or the bell sound or a microwave oven. Other examplesare a horn of an automobile, the rattling ‘chik-chuk’ sound of a trainand a siren of an emergency vehicle such as a police car, an ambulanceor a fire-engine truck. In such a case, the sounder will preferablygenerate a sound which simulates or is similar to the real soundassociated with the theme, such as a telephone ringing for a telephoneset and a siren sound for a police car. In another example, the deviceshape includes an animal, and the sounder produces the characteristicsound of the animal, such as barking for a dog, yowling for a cat andtwittering of a bird. Such a system can be used for audio-visuallearning for teaching small children by association of an object such asa musical instruments or an animal which produces a distinctive soundwith the viewable indicia associated therewith.

In one example the sound generated is music or song. The elements of themusic such as pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and itsassociated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and thesonic qualities of timbre and texture, may be associated with the device10 shape or theme. For example, if a musical instrument is shown in apicture or by the shape of the device 10, the music generated by thatinstrument will be played, such as drumming sound of drums and playingof a flute or guitar. In one example according to the invention, a songor a melody of a song is played by the annunciator. Preferably, the song(or its melody) may be associated with the device 10 sensed motions, itsshape or its theme.

In one example according to the invention, a human voice talking isplayed by the annunciator. The sound may be a syllable, a word, aphrase, a sentence, a short story or a long story, and can be based onspeech synthesis or pre-recorded. Male or female voice can be used,being young or old. The text sounded is preferably associated with theshape or theme. For example, a name of the theme of the system can beheard, such as ‘dog’, ‘truck’ and ‘mountain’. Further, the story heardmay be related to the theme, or can describe the items shown in an imageprinted on the device 10 enclosure. In another example, generalencouraging, thanking or praising phrases can be made such as ‘goodwork’, ‘excellent’ and ‘congratulations’. Further, a greeting such as‘Merry Christmas’ can be played for a Christmas related theme.

A tone, voice, melody or song sounder typically contains a memorystoring a digital representation of the pre-recorder or synthesizedvoice or music, a digital to analog (D/A) converter for creating ananalog signal, a speaker and a driver for feeding the speaker. Anannunciator 13, which includes a sounder, may be based on Holtek HT3834CMOS VLSI Integrated Circuit (IC) named ‘36 Melody Music Generator’available from Holtek Semiconductor Inc., headquartered in Hsinchu,Taiwan, and described with application circuits in a data sheet Rev.1.00 dated Nov. 2, 2006, which is incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein. Similarly, the sounder may bebased on EPSON 7910 series ‘Multi-Melody IC’ available from Seiko-EpsonCorporation, Electronic Devices Marketing Division located in Tokyo,Japan, and described with application circuits in a data sheet PF226-04dated 1998, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as iffully set forth herein. A human voice synthesizer may be based onMagnevation SpeakJet chip available from Magnevation LLC and describedin ‘Natural Speech & Complex Sound Synthesizer’ described in User'sManual Revision 1.0 Jul. 27, 2004, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A general audiocontroller may be based on OPTi 82C931 ‘Plug and Play Integrated AudioController’ described in Data Book 912-3000-035 Revision: 2.1 publishedon Aug. 1, 1997, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein. Similarly, a music synthesizer may bebased on YMF721 OPL4-ML2 FM+Wavetable Synthesizer LSI available fromYamaha Corporation described in YMF721 Catalog No. LSI-4MF721A20, whichis incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. Some examples of prior-art toys that include generation of anaudio signal such as music are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,149 toSchwartzberg entitled: “Game Apparatus Utilizing Controllable AudioSignals”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,260 to Breedlove et al. entitled:“Electronic Learning Aid or Game having Synthesized Speech”, in U.S.Pat. No. 7,414,186 to Scarpa et al. entitled: “System and Method forTeaching Musical Notes”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,255 to Lee et al.entitled: “Electronic Instructional Apparatus”, in U.S. Pat. No.4,248,123 to Bunger et al. entitled: “Electronic Piano” and in U.S. Pat.No. 4,796,891 to Milner entitled: “Musical Puzzle Using Sliding Tiles”,and toys with means for synthesizing human voice are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 6,527,611 to Cummings entitled: “Place and Find Toy”, and inU.S. Pat. No. 4,840,602 to Rose entitled: “Talking Doll Responsive toExternal Signal”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein. A music toy kit combining musictoy instrument with a set of construction toy blocks is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 6,132,281 to Klitsner et al. entitled: “Music Toy Kit” andin U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,129 to Wisniewski et al. entitled: “ElectronicSound Generating Toy”, which are incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one example according to the invention, the annunciator includes asmoke generation unit, mimicking the generation of a real life smokingsuch as a smoke of a real train. Preferably, such implementation mayrelate to a theme of a train having a smoking locomotive or a fire. Someexamples of smoke generation units are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,280,278 to Wells entitled: “Smoke Generation System for Model TopApplications” and U.S. Pat. No. 7,297,045 to Pierson et al. entitled:“Smart Smoke Unit”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

The device 10 is powered from a power supply 14 connected toelectrically power part or all of the power-consuming components of thedevice 10. The power supply 14 may be a power source which is integratedinto the device 10 enclosure, such as a battery, either primary orrechargeable type, which may reside in a battery compartment.Alternatively, the power source may reside external to the deviceenclosure and is feeding the local power supply 14, such as poweringfrom AC power outlet via common AC/DC adapter containing a step-downtransformer and an AC to DC converter (rectifier). A DC/DC converter maybe used in order to adapt the power voltage from a source into one ormore voltages used by the various electrical circuits.

The battery may be a primary or a rechargeable (secondary) type, mayinclude a single or few batteries, and may use various chemicals for theelectro-chemical cells, such as lithium, alkaline and nickel-cadmium.Common batteries are manufactured in defined output voltages (1.5, 3,4.5, 9 Volts, for example), as well as defined standard mechanicalenclosures (usually defined by letters “A”, “AA”, “B”, “C” sizes etc.,and ‘coin’ type). In one embodiment the battery (or batteries) is heldin a battery holder, and thus can be easily replaced.

As an alternative or as addition to using battery as a power source, thesystem can be power fed from the AC power supply, and thus may includean AC/DC converter, for converting the AC power (commonly 115 VAC/60 Hzin North America and 220 VAC/50 Hz in Europe) into the required DCvoltage or voltages. Such small outlet plug-in step-down transformershape can be used (also known as wall-wart, “power brick”, “plug pack”,“plug-in adapter”, “adapter block”, “domestic mains adapter”, “poweradapter”, or AC adapter) as known in the art and typically involvesconverting 120 or 240 volt AC supplied by a power utility company to awell-regulated lower voltage DC for electronic devices. The AC adapterscommonly include a step down transformer for reducing to non-hazardouspotential such as 12V or 9V, connected to a DC rectifier to supply a DCvoltage (such as 12 VDC or 9 VDC).

The control block 12 receives the signals representing the magnitude andthe direction of the motion sensed by the motion sensor 11, and controlsthe operation of the annunciator 13 based on a logic embedded in it. Theannunciator 13 may be operated based on the magnitude of the sensedmotion, such as a threshold mechanism activating the annunciator whenthe motion sensed exceeds a pre-defined value. In another example, theannunciator is activated in response to the value measured. Similarly,the logic in the control block 12 may also activate the annunciator inresponse to the direction of the motion sensed by the motion sensor 11.Further, the logic may involve any combination of magnitude anddirection of the sensed motion.

The control block 12 embedded logic may also use the timing informationrelating to the motion, such as the change of the magnitude and/or thedirection of the motion over time. For example, a timer may be used formeasuring the time between successive hits. Further, a timer may be usedin order to activate (or de-activate) an annunciator for a definedperiod as a response to an event such as sensing an accelerationmagnitude exceeding a predefined threshold. Timing information may usetimers that may be implemented as a monostable circuit, producing apulse of set length when triggered. In one example, the timers are basedon RC based popular timers such as 555 and 556, such as ICM7555available from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif.,U.S.A., described in the data sheet “General Purpose Timers” publicationnumber 19-0481 Rev. 2 November 1992, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Examples ofgeneral timing diagrams as well as monostable circuits are described inApplication Note AN170 “NE555 and NE556 Applications” from Philipssemiconductors dated December 1988, which is incorporated in itsentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Alternatively, apassive or active delay line may be used. Further, a processor baseddelay line can be used, wherein the delay is set by its firmware.

The control block 12 electronic circuits (e.g., integrated circuit (IC)and related devices) may be based on a discrete logic or an integrateddevice, such as a processor, microprocessor or microcomputer, and mayinclude a general-purpose device or may be a special purpose processingdevice, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), PAL,Programmable Logic Array (PLA), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA), Gate Array, or other customized orprogrammable device. For example, a timer can be implemented by acounted loop executed in software. In the case of a programmable deviceas well as in other implementations, a memory is required. The memorymay include a static RAM (random Access Memory), dynamic RAM, flashmemory, ROM (Read Only Memory), or any other data storage medium. Thememory may include data, algorithms, programs, and/or instructions andany other software or firmware executable by the processor. The controllogic can be implemented in hardware or in software, such as a firmwarestored in the memory. The term “processor” herein is meant to includeany integrated circuit or other electronic device (or collection ofdevices) capable of performing an operation on at least one instructionincluding, without limitation, reduced instruction set core (RISC)processors, CISC microprocessors, microcontroller units (MCUs),CISC-based central processing units (CPUs), and digital signalprocessors (DSPs). The hardware of such devices may be integrated onto asingle substrate (e.g., silicon “die”), or distributed among two or moresubstrates. Furthermore, various functional aspects of the processor maybe implemented solely as software or firmware associated with theprocessor. In accordance with various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the methods described herein may be implemented by softwareprograms executable by a processor or a computer system. Further, in anexemplary, non-limited embodiment, implementations can includedistributed processing, component/object distributed processing, andparallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer system processingcan be constructed to implement one or more of the methods orfunctionality as described herein.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein. In a particularnon-limiting, exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium caninclude a solid-state memory such as a memory card or other package thathouses one or more non-volatile read-only memories. Further, thecomputer-readable medium can be a random access memory or other volatilere-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium caninclude a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes orother storage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signalcommunicated over a transmission medium. Accordingly, the disclosure isconsidered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium or adistribution medium and other equivalents and successor media, in whichdata or instructions may be stored.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch-cards, paper-tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a processor-based controlblock 20 upon which an embodiment of a control block 12 may beimplemented. The control block 20 may be integrated or used as aportable electronic device such as notebook/laptop computer, a mediaplayer (e.g., MP3 based or video player), a cellular phone, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), an image processing device (e.g., a digitalcamera or video recorder), and/or any other handheld computing devices,or a combination of any of these devices. Note that while FIG. 2illustrates various components of a computer system, it is not intendedto represent any particular architecture or manner of interconnectingthe components; as such details are not germane to the presentinvention. It will also be appreciated that network computers, handheldcomputers, cell phones and other data processing systems which havefewer components or perhaps more components may also be used with thepresent invention. The computer system of FIG. 2 may, for example, be anApple Macintosh computer or Power Book, or an IBM compatible PC.Computer/control/logic system 20 includes a bus 24, an interconnect, orother communication mechanism for communicating information, and aprocessor (or a Central Processing Unit—CPU) 25, commonly in the form ofan integrated circuit, coupled with bus 24 for processing informationand for executing the computer executable instructions.Computer/logic/control system 20 also includes a main memory 22, such asa Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled tobus 24 for storing information and instructions to be executed byprocessor 25. Main memory 22 also may be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions to be executed by processor 25. Computer/control/logicsystem 20 further includes a Read Only Memory (ROM) 21 (or othernon-volatile memory) or other static storage device coupled to bus 24for storing static information and instructions for processor 25. Astorage device 23, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, a hard diskdrive for reading from and writing to a hard disk, a magnetic disk drivefor reading from and writing to a magnetic disk, and/or an optical diskdrive (such as DVD) for reading from and writing to a removable opticaldisk, is coupled to bus 24 for storing information and instructions. Thehard disk drive, magnetic disk drive, and optical disk drive may beconnected to the system bus by a hard disk drive interface, a magneticdisk drive interface, and an optical disk drive interface, respectively.The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenon-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the general purpose computingdevices. Typically computer system 20 includes an operating system (OS)stored in a non-volatile storage for managing the computer resources andprovides the applications and programs with an access to the computerresources and interfaces. An operating system commonly processes systemdata and user input, and responds by allocating and managing tasks andinternal system resources, such as controlling and allocating memory,prioritizing system requests, controlling input and output devices,facilitating networking and managing files. Examples of operatingsystems are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

The invention is related to the use of computer/control/logic system 20for implementing the methods and techniques described herein. Accordingto one embodiment of the invention, those methods and techniques areperformed by computer/control/logic system 20 in response to processor25 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions containedin main memory 22. Such instructions may be read into main memory 22from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 23.Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 22causes processor 25 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of orin combination with software instructions to implement the invention.Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software.

The control system 20 may communicate with the motion sensor 11 and theannunciator 13 via a digital communication link using CommunicationInterface 26 coupled to bus 24. In the case of a motion sensor 11 havingan analog output, an Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter 27 which convertscontinuous signals to discrete digital numbers is used, coupled betweenthe motion sensor 11 and the bus 24. In the case the annunciator 13 ishaving an analog input, a Digital-to-Analog (D/A) converter 28 whichconverts a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal (current,voltage or electric charge) coupled between the annunciator 13 and thebus 24. Other signal conditioning may also be applied in order toimprove the handling of the motion sensor output or to adapt to controlor activate the annunciator, such as attenuation, delay, filtering,amplifying, digitizing and any other signal manipulation.

The term ‘random’ in these specifications and claims is intended tocover not only pure random, non-deterministically and non-predictedgenerated signals, but also pseudo-random, deterministic signals such asthe output of a shift-register arrangement provided with a feedbackcircuit as used to generate pseudo-random binary signals or asscramblers, and chaotic signals. In one aspect of the invention, arandomness factor is included in the device. The stochastic operationmay add amusement and recreation to the system or device operation sincethe operation will be surprising, non-repetitive and cannot bepredicted.

In one aspect of the invention randomness may be used. Randomness iscommonly implemented by using random numbers, defined as a sequence ofnumbers or symbols that lack any pattern and thus appear random, areoften generated by a random number generator. A random number generator(having either analog or digital output) can be hardware based, using aphysical process such as thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decayingradiation, photoelectric effect or other quantum phenomena.Alternatively, or in addition, the generation of the random numbers canbe software based, using a processor executing an algorithm forgenerating pseudo-random numbers which approximates the properties ofrandom numbers.

A digital random signal generator (known as random number generator)wherein numbers in binary form replaces the analog voltage value outputmay be used. One approach to random number generation is based on usinglinear feedback shift registers. An example of random number generatorsis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,157 to Ikake entitled: “RandomNumber Generator”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,176 to Schulz entitled:“Random Number Generator Circuit”, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,884 to Brownet al. entitled: “Random Number Generator with Digital Feedback” and inU.S. Pat. No. 7,145,933 to Szajnowski entitled: “Method and Apparatusfor generating Random signals”, which are incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

A digital random signal generator can be based on ‘True Random NumberGeneration IC RPG100/RPG100B’ available from FDK Corporation anddescribed in the data sheet ‘Physical Random number generatorRPG100.RPG100B’ REV. 08 publication number HM-RAE106-0812, which isincorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forthherein. The digital random signal generator can be hardware based,generating random numbers from a natural physical process or phenomenon,such as the thermal noise of semiconductor which has no periodicity.Typically, such hardware random number generators are based onmicroscopic phenomena such as thermal noise, shot noise, nucleardecaying radiation, photoelectric effect or other quantum phenomena, andtypically contain a transducer to convert some aspect of the physicalphenomenon to an electrical signal, an amplifier and other electronic tobring the output into a signal that can be converted into a digitalrepresentation by an analog to digital converter. In the case wheredigitized serial random number signals are generated, the output isconverted to parallel, such as 8 bits data, with 256 values of randomnumbers (values from 0 to 255). Alternatively, the digital random signalgenerator can be software (or firmware) based, such as pseudo-randomnumber generators. Such generators include a processor for executingsoftware that includes an algorithm for generating numbers, whichapproximates the properties of random numbers.

The random signal generator (either analog or digital) may output asignal having uniform distribution, in which there is a substantially orpurely equal probability of a signal falling between two defined limits,having no appearance outside these limits. However, Gaussian and otherdistribution may be equally used.

The annunciator 13 may be powered from the same power supply 14 as theone powering the associated device, or may be powered from a dedicatedor separated power source. In one example, the annunciator 13 activationmay include its powering by the power supply 14 by a switch connectedbetween a power supply 14 and the annunciator 13, where the switch isactivated based on the activation signal. Such a scheme is exampled in adevice 30 shown in FIG. 3 , describing a logic block 12 including anelectrically activated switch 31, operated via a control port 32,connected between the power supply 14 and the annunciator 13. The logicin the control block 12 activates the switch 31 via the control port 32,which in turn power the annunciator 13 from the power supply 14. In oneembodiment, the annunciator 13 is toggle controlled, wherein eachtriggering event causes the annunciator 13 to switch to an alternatestate, for example by using a toggle switch as an alternative or as anaddition to the on/off switch 31. The switch 31 may be implemented byrelay contacts, wherein control line 32 is a control signal used toenergize and de-energize the coil of the relay, or may be implementedusing solid state circuitry such as a solid-state relay, an optocoupleror any other controlled switches known in the art.

The control block 12 uses control port 32 for selectively energizing andde-energizing the annunciator 13 via the switch 31. For a non-limitingexample, in the case wherein the annunciator 13 is a LED (or any otherilluminating device), the control block 12 logic may turn the light onor off via the control port 32. Similarly, a flashing light can beobtained by periodically providing the power to the LED by the controlblock 12. Similarly, in the case wherein annunciator 13 is a buzzer, thecontinuity, duty-cycle and time of operation can be controlled by thecontrol block 12. In some cases controlling the annunciator 13 is notmade via switching its power but rather by a control port, preferablydigital, provided in the annunciator 13. Examples of control blocks,annunciators and means and methods for controlling or activatingpayloads such as an annunciator are described in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication 2011/0012661 to Binder titled: “Sequentially OperatedModules” and in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/0031689 toBinder titled: “Puzzle with Conductive Path”, both are incorporated intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. In oneexample, a bit′ of the device 10 is detected by sensing any accelerationabove a pre-defined magnitude. For example, the threshold value isdetermined such as to sense throwing, kicking or catching of the ball10. In such a case, the logic 12 (or the motion sensor 11) is set todetect any acceleration in any direction which is above 2 g. Theannunciator 13 is responsive to such sensed ‘hit’. In one case, theannunciator has two states, activated (‘ON’) and deactivated (‘OFF”),such as a lamp having ‘lit’ and ‘blank’ states or a buzzer having‘silent’ and ‘buzz’ states. In such a case, the annunciator 13 may beactivated for a pre-defined time (e.g. 2 seconds) any time a ‘hit’ isdetected. Alternatively, the annunciator 13 changes states between ‘ON’and ‘OFF’ each time a hit is sensed, such that it is activated onlyafter odd number of hits, and stays deactivated after even numbers ofhits. In another example, the annunciator 13 is responsive to the numberof hits detected, for example during a defined period or counted as longas pre-set period between hits has not expired. In such example, theannunciator 13 is activated only after pre-set number of hits. Forexample, the annunciator 13 enters ‘ON’ state only after 10 hits weredetected in a 15 seconds period. Alternatively, the annunciator 13enters ‘ON’ state after 10 hits, wherein the measured time betweensuccessive hits is less than 4 seconds.

The annunciator 13 may annunciate by cycling between ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’states (such as lamp flashing), where the annunciator 13 is activatedintermittently few times for a short duration each time, where eitherthe activating rate or the number of ‘ON’ periods are based on thesensed motion. Preferably, during such activation the period of time ofthe ‘ON’ state is equal to the period of the ‘OFF’ state. For example,the annunciator 13 may flash according to the number of sensed hits in apre-defined period, or as long as hits are being sensed, or the numberof sensed hits is accumulated and stored, and shown as the numbers ofshort activations after a pre-set rest period (when no hits are sensedduring that period). Similarly, the annunciator 13 is activated inresponse to the magnitude of a sensed hit. For example, a strong hit,such as sensed by high magnitude of acceleration, will affect the numberof the cycles, where a hit of 10 g may result in 10 activation cycles,and a hit of 5 g will create a response of 5 cycles. In such a case, thelogic block 12 may include few thresholds at different accelerationmagnitude levels, where crossing higher threshold will result in morenumber of blinks. Alternatively or in addition, the hits count or thehit magnitude may be used to change the rate of the annunciator 13cycling, where higher hits count or stronger hit will affect higherfrequency or duty-cycle.

While the operation of the annunciator 13 has been described above ashaving two states, non-activated (‘OFF’ state) and activated (‘ON’state), the annunciator 13 activation or control may also be continuouslevel control such as changing the illumination intensity in a lamp,where changing of the light energy or power emitted, or the soundingvolume of a buzzer or any other sounder. In such configuration, theannunciator 13 level control is based on the motion sensed by the motionsensor 11. For example, the level may be increased at each hit sensed orbased on the number of hits sensed in a defined period. Similarly, theannunciator 13 level may reflect the strength of the hit sensed bymeasuring the peak of the acceleration magnitude. The changing level maybe combined with the number of cycles, the duty cycle or any otheractivation scheme of the annunciator 13.

In one example, the annunciator 13 can be in one out of multiple statesas controlled by the logic block 12. For example, the annunciator 13 maybe a multi-color LED, where one of the colors is illuminating under acontrol. Similarly, the annunciator 13 may be a sounder that can becontrolled to emit one out of different tones, say one word out of many,and play a selected music out of a list of songs and the like. In such acase, one of the states may be activated as a response for a single hit,the number of hits sensed or as a response to the hit magnitude, one ofstates of the annunciator 13 is activated. For example, the annunciator13 state may be changing (e.g., according to a pre-set states changingscheme) after each hit sensed. In another example, the number of hits isreflected in the annunciator 13 state. Similarly, multiple annunciatorsmay be used, where the annunciation is based on activating one of theannunciators, or based on the activation of a combination of theannunciators.

In one example, randomness is added to the logic that activates orcontrols the annunciator 13 in response to the acceleration sensed bythe motion sensor 46. For example, the random activation of theannunciator 13 in response to a sensed hit may be implemented. In thecase where 55% is the pre-set probability embedded in the ball 40 logic,only 55% of the hits results in any activation of the annunciator 13, orany other change in its state. Similarly, any other type of theannunciator 13 activation such as duty-cycle, cycling, state changingmay be random-based, adding to the amusement of playing with it.

The logic block 12 may include a counter for calculating and storing thenumber of times a particular event or process has occurred. For example,a counter may be used to count the number of times sensed accelerationwas above a pre-determined threshold (‘hit’). The annunciator 13 maydisplay the counter value, or alternatively the annunciator 13 may beactivated or controlled based on the event count. Further, theannunciator 13 may be activated or controlled based on an event when thecounted number exceeds a pre-determined value. For example, anannunciator may activate a lamp when the number of sensed hits exceedsthe number five. The annunciator 13 may be a numerical display forvisually indicating the number of hits or any other value based on thecounter value. The counter may be implemented in software (or firmware),where a register content is used to store consecutive integersrepresenting the events count. Further, a counter may be mechanical orelectromechanical, as known in the art. Alternatively or in addition, acounter may be electronically implemented by a digital hardware usingflip-flops. Example of electronic counters having a numerical displaythat may be used are electronic pulse counter model Codix 130 and LCDmodule 192 available from Fritz Kübler GmbH and respectively describedin Fritz Kübler GmbH catalog Pulse Counters, electronic chapter,describing LCD Module 192 in page 77 and Codix 130 in pages 56-57, whichare incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

Ball.

In one aspect of the invention, the device 10 is shaped as a ball or anyother toy-like structure. Such a ball can be used in any ball game, suchas dribbling, kicking, catching and other, wither for a single player orwhere two persons are throwing the ball from one to the other, whereannunciator 13 responds to the playing activities, based on a logic inthe logic block 12. Preferably, the components of the device are mountedcentrally in the ball structure so that the ball is not untowardlyunevenly balanced due to any significant off-center weighting. Further,the ball may be filled with plastic foam.

Additional possible shapes include interior cavity shapes equivalent tosphere, multi-sphere, egg, football, ovoid and multi-ovoid shapes;unlimited exterior shapes including but not limited to those of theinterior shapes plus irregular spheres in the approximate size and withthe approximate texture of a scoop of ice cream, animal figures,geometric shapes, spikes, vegetable and fruit shapes, other food productshapes such as a roast chicken, beef knuckle bone, irregular shapes,novelty shapes and the like that would additionally allow for pleasantgrabbing texture and surface variety for a pet or a person. Preferablythe shape allows for regular or irregular rolling patterns.

In one example, the device 10 is enclosed in a soccer-shaped ball 40used as a toy shown in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b . The power supply 14 isimplemented by the battery 45 (primary or rechargeable), housed in acavity inside the ball 40. A cover 41 is removably secured to the ballhousing, and the can be mounted into or removed from the ball 40structure using screws via the holes 43 a and 43 b, thus allowing forreplacement of the battery 45 upon its exhaustion. The cover 41 conformsto the outer surface of the ball 40 and fits flush with the outersurface that surrounds the aperture into which the cover 41 is inserted.An LED 42 is mounted on the cover 41, providing a visual indication tothe user/player. The motion sensor 11 is implemented using a PCB(Printed Circuit Board) mounted 3-axis accelerometer 46. A PCB 47 isused as a mechanical base and for electrical connection of theelectronic components implementing part or all of the logic block 12functionalities. The LED 42 is connected to the electronic circuits onthe PCB 47 via wires 44 a and 44 b. Similarly, the battery 45 isconnected to the PCB 47 circuits in order to power them. FIG. 4 a showsthe ball 40 open having the cover 41 separated from the enclosure of theball 40, and FIG. 4 b shows the cover 41 attached as part of the ball 40structure, thus forming a substantially spherical body resembling acommon play ball.

The ball 40 is can be used in any ball game, such as dribbling, kicking,catching and other, wither for a single player or where two persons arethrowing the ball from one to the other, where visual indication by theLED 42 responds to the playing activities. The cover 41 mayalternatively be secured to ball 40 housing opening using bayonets.Further, the ball 40 housing may be comprised of two half spheres thatmay mate together along a substantially circular edge, where one halfsphere includes a plurality of sockets positioned to circumference formating with a plurality of corresponding pins in the second half sphere,as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,671. Alternatively or inaddition, the ball components may be housed in a cylindrical plastichousing that is housed in the ball which is formed with peripheralformations and aperture to house the cylinder, as described for examplein U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,839.

In one example, a ‘hit’ of the play ball 40 is detected by sensing anyacceleration above a pre-defined magnitude. The threshold value isdetermined such as to sense the throwing, kicking or catching of theball 40. For example, the logic 12 will be set to detect anyacceleration in any direction which is above 2 g. The LED 42 isresponsive to such sensed bounce or ‘hit’. In one example, the LED 42lit for a pre-defined time (e.g. 2 seconds) any time a ‘hit’ isdetected. Alternatively, the LED 42 changes states between blanking tolighting each time a hit is sensed, such that it will illuminate onlyafter an odd number of hits, and stays blank after even numbers of hits.In another example, the LED 42 is responsive to the number of hitsdetected, for example during a defined period or counted as long aspre-set period between hits has not expired. In such example, the LED 42lit only after pre-set number of hits. For example, the LED 42 lit onlyafter 10 hits were detected in a 15 seconds period. Alternatively, theLED 42 lit after 10 hits, wherein the measured time between successivehits is less than 4 seconds.

The LED 42 may annunciate by flashing or blinking, where the LED 42 isgleaming or glowing intermittently few times for a short duration eachtime, where either the blinking rate or the number of lit periods arebased on the sensed motion. Preferably, during flashing the period oftime of illumination is equal to the period of non-illumination. Forexample, the LED 42 may flash according to the number of sensed hits ina pre-defined period, or as long as hits are being sensed, or the numberof sensed hits is accumulated and stored, and shown as the numbers ofblinks after a pre-set rest period (when no hits are sensed during thatperiod). Similarly, the LED 42 is activated in response to the magnitudeof a sensed hit. For example, a strong hit, such as sensed by highmagnitude of acceleration, will affect the number of blinks, where a hitof 10 g may result in 10 blinks, and a hit of 5 g will create a responseof 5 blinks. In such a case, the logic block 12 may include fewthresholds at different acceleration magnitude levels, where crossinghigher threshold will result in more number of blinks. Alternatively orin addition, the hit count or the hit magnitude may be used to changethe blinking rate of the LED 42, where higher hits count or stronger hitwill affect higher flashing rate or duty-cycle.

While the operation of the LED 42 has been described above as having twostates, blank (‘OFF’ state) and lit (‘ON’ state), the LED 42 activationor control may also be continuous such as changing the illuminationintensity, or any other changing of the light energy or power emitted.In such configuration, the LED 42 illumination intensity is based on themotion sensed by the motion sensor 46. For example, the illuminationintensity may be increased at each hit sensed or based on the number ofhits sensed in a defined period. Similarly, the LED 42 illuminationintensity may reflect the strength of the hit sensed by measuring thepeak of the acceleration magnitude. The changing intensity may becombined with the number of flashes, the duty cycle or any otheractivation scheme of the LED 42.

In one example, the LED 42 is a multi-color LED, and one of the colorsis illuminated as a response for a single hit, the number of hits sensedor as a response to the hit magnitude. For example, the LED 42 color ischanging (e.g., according to a pre-set color changing scheme) after eachhit sensed. In another example, the number of hits is reflected in theLED 42 emitted color. Further, the color is darker (or lighter) orotherwise affected by the measured magnitude of the acceleration.Similarly, multiple single-color LEDs may be used, where theannunciation is based on the LED that illuminates, or based on thecombination of the illuminating LEDs.

In one example, randomness is added to the logic that activates orcontrols the LED 42 in response to the acceleration sensed by the motionsensor 46. For example, the random activation of the LED 42 in responseto a sensed hit may be implemented. In the case where 55% is the pre-setprobability embedded in the ball 40 logic, only 55% of the hits resultsin any activation of the LED 42, or any other change in its state.Similarly, any other type of the LED 42 activation such as duty-cycle,flashing, color changing (in the case of multi-color LED) may berandom-based, adding to the amusement of playing with it.

While the soccer-shaped ball 40 described above included a LED 42 as avisual indicator implementing the annunciator 13, the invention equallyapplies to the case of a ball 60 including an audible annunciator (as analternative or addition to the LED 42) as shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b ,where FIG. 6 a shows an exploded view of the ball 60. The power supply14 is implemented by the battery 45 (primary or rechargeable), housed ina cavity inside the ball 60. A cover 61 can be mounted into or removedfrom the ball 60 structure mating circular aperture using screws via theholes 43 a and 43 b, thus allowing for replacement of the battery 45upon its draining A speaker 64 is attached the cover 61, providing anaudible indication such as voice or any other sound to the user/playervia the holes screen 62. The motion sensor 11 is implemented using a PCB(Printed Circuit Board) mounted 3-axis accelerometer 46. A PCB 65 isused as a mechanical base and for electrical connection of theelectronic components implementing part or all of the logic block 12functionalities. The speaker 64 is connected to the electronic circuitson the PCB 65 via wires 63 a and 63 b. Similarly, the battery 45 isconnected to the PCB 65 circuits in order to power them. FIG. 6 a showsthe ball 60 open having the cover 61 separated from the housing of ball60, and FIG. 6 b shows the cover 61 attached as part of the ball 60structure, thus forming a substantially spherical body resembling acommon play ball. The ball 60 is can be used in any ball game, such asdribbling, kicking, catching and other, wither for a single player orwhere two persons are throwing the ball from one to the other, where thesound emitted from the speaker 64 responds to the playing activities.

In one example, a ‘hit’ of the play ball 40 is detected by sensing anyacceleration above a pre-defined magnitude. The threshold value isdetermined such as to sense the throwing, kicking or catching of theball 40. For example, the logic 12 will be set to detect anyacceleration in any direction which is above 2 g. The LED 42 isresponsive to such sensed ‘hit’. In one example, the LED 42 lit for apre-defined time (e.g. 2 seconds) any time a ‘hit’ is detected.Alternatively, the LED 42 changes states between blanking to lightingeach time a hit is sensed, such that it will illuminate only after anodd number of hits, and stays blank after even numbers of hits. Inanother example, the LED 42 is responsive to the number of hitsdetected, for example during a defined period or counted as long aspre-set period between hits has not expired. In such example, the LED 42lit only after pre-set number of hits. For example, the LED 42 lit onlyafter 10 hits were detected in a 15 second period. Alternatively, theLED 42 lit after 10 hits, wherein the measured time between successivehits is less than 4 seconds.

The speaker 64 may annunciate by sounding tone, ring, voice, melody orsong, as well as text-based message such as syllable, word, phrase orsentence, under the control of the embedded logic. The speaker 64 mayprovide the sound continuously or intermittently, such as few cycles ofa short duration on each time, where either the sounding repetition rateor the number of sounding periods are based on the sensed motion.Preferably, during cycling the period of time of sounding is equal tothe period of silencing. For example, the speaker 64 may ring or emitsounding periods according to the number of sensed hits in a pre-definedperiod, or as long as hits are being sensed, or the number of sensedhits is accumulated and stored, and shown as the numbers of soundingcycles after a pre-set rest period (when no hits are sensed during thatperiod). Similarly, the speaker 64 may be activated in response to themagnitude of a sensed hit. For example, a strong hit, such as sensed byhigh magnitude of acceleration, will affect the number of the soundingcycles, where a hit of 10 g may result in 10 cycles, and a hit of 5 gwill create a response of 5 sounding cycles. In such a case, the logicblock 12 may include few thresholds at different acceleration magnitudelevels, where crossing higher threshold will result in more number ofcycles. Alternatively or in addition, the hits count or the hitmagnitude may be used to change the sounding rate of the speaker 64,where higher hits count or stronger hit will affect higher sounding rateor duty-cycle.

While the operation of the speaker 64 has been described above as havingtwo states, silence (‘OFF’ state) and sounding (‘ON’ state), the speaker64 activation or control may also be continuous such as changing thetone frequency or the sound volume, or any other changing of the emittedacoustic signal. In such configuration, the volume emitted by thespeaker 64 (or its frequency or both) is based on the motion sensed bythe motion sensor 46. For example, the volume may be increased at eachhit sensed or based on the number of hits sensed in a defined period.Similarly, the speaker 64 illumination intensity may reflect thestrength of the hit sensed by measuring the peak of the accelerationmagnitude. The changing volume may be combined with the number or typesof the emitted sounds, the duty cycle or any other activation scheme ofthe speaker 64.

In one example, the ball 60 is capable of emitting multiple sounds, suchas various tones, melodies, words, phrases and the like. Commonly one ofthe possible sounds is announced as a response for a single hit, thenumber of hits sensed or as a response to the hit magnitude. Forexample, the speaker 64 may announce a different word such as ‘goodwork’, ‘excellent’ and ‘congratulations’ (e.g., according to a pre-setannouncing scheme) after each hit sensed. In another example, the numberof hits is reflected in the ball 60 emitted voices. In one example, theball 60 announce the counting of hits sensed, such that the word ‘one’will be announced after the first hit, the number ‘two’ will beannounced after the second hit and so forth. Similarly, the ball 60 mayannounce the strength of the sensed hit, such as based on the peak levelof the acceleration sensed. For example, in case of peak acceleration inthe range of 4.5-5.5 g the ball 60 will announce ‘five g’, and for therange of 8.9-9.5 g the phrase ‘nine g’ will be announced.

In one example, randomness is added to the logic that activates orcontrols the sounds emitted by the speaker 64 in response to theacceleration sensed by the motion sensor 46. For example, randomsounding in response to a sensed hit may be implemented, where some ofthe hits will be responses by a sound and in some the ball remainssilent. In the case where 55% is the pre-set probability embedded in theball 60 logic, only 55% of the hits results in any activation of thespeaker 64, or any other change in its state. Similarly, any other typeof the speaker 64 activation such as selecting a one, word, music, word,phrase and others may be random-based selected, adding to the amusementof playing with it.

In another example, a ball 90 having a numeric display 92 is shown inFIG. 9 , added to the LED 42 described as part of the ball 40 shown inFIGS. 4 a-4 b . The numeric display 92 is part of the cover 91, and isused to display numbers, such as the number ‘55’ shown in FIG. 9 . Thenumber displayed may represent the number of hits or the strength of thelast sensed hit.

Power.

The ball 40 was described above in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b as being poweredfrom the battery 45. The battery may be a primary battery or cell, inwhich an irreversible chemical reaction generates the electricity, andthus the cell is disposable and cannot be recharged, and need to bereplaced after the battery is drained. Such battery replacement isexpensive and cumbersome. Alternatively, a rechargeable (secondary)battery may be used, such as a nickel-cadmium based battery. In such acase, a battery charger is employed for charging the battery while notin use.

A block diagram 50 a of a rechargeable battery 36 based device accordingto one aspect of the invention is shown in FIG. 5 . A battery charger 37is an electrical circuit connected to the rechargeable battery 36 andprovides a forced and controlled voltage and/or current to a battery toput electrical energy into it. Various types of such battery chargersare known in the art, such as trickle chargers, pulse chargers and thelike. The device 55 enclosure connects via connector 551 to a matingconnector 552 for connecting to a power source, such as the AC/DCconverter 38. The AC/DC converter 38 is commonly power fed from adomestic AC power through AC plug 39 and cord 553, and commonly includesa step-down transformer. The AC/DC converter 38 is used for convertingthe AC power (commonly 115 VAC/60 Hz or 220 VAC/50 Hz) into the requiredDC voltage or voltages. Such power supplies are known in the art andtypically involves converting 120 or 240 volt AC supplied by a powerutility company to a well-regulated lower voltage DC for electronicdevices. For example, a small outlet plug-in step-down transformer shapecan be used as the AC/DC converter 38, also known as wall-wart, “powerbrick”, “plug pack”, “plug-in adapter”, “adapter block”, “domestic mainsadapter”, “power adapter”, or AC adapter. The charging associatedcomponents, such as the battery charger 37, the AC/DC converter 38, theAC plug 39, and the cable 553, may be housed in a separate enclosure,and connected via a connector to the device 55 housing, housing theelectric cell or cells 36. Similarly, the AC/DC converter 38 may behoused within the device 55 enclosure, and having a single connector forconnecting via cord 553 and AC plug 39 to the AC power supply. Hence,each or both of the battery charger 37 and the AC/DC converter 38 may beintegrated with the device 55 enclosure or in a separate housing.

An example of a ball 51 comprising cover 53 and including a rechargeablebattery 45 is shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b respectively showing views 50 b(showing open cover 53) and 50 c (showing cover 53 installed). Duringcharging, an AC/DC converter device 52 (corresponding to AC/DC converter38) is used, having prongs 57 a and 57 b (corresponding to AC power plug39) for connecting to an AC power outlet for receiving the AC power(either 120 VAC (e.g., in North America) or 220 VAC (e.g., in somecountries in Europe). The DC power is fed to a load via cord 59 andconnector 54 (corresponding to connector 552). The ball 51 includes abattery charger circuit 37 on the PCB 47, connected to plug 58 whichmates with the feeding socket 54 via wires 56 a and 56 b. When engagingthe mating connectors 54 and 58 and connecting the AC/DC converter 52 toan AC power source, the battery 45 is being charged, obviating the needto remove the cover 53 for physical access to replace the battery 45.

In another example, the device is locally energized. Such a device 80 isshown in FIG. 8 using an electrical energy generator 81 to locallygenerate electrical power for charging the rechargeable battery 36 viathe battery charger 37. Preferably, the generator 81 is integratedwithin the device 80 enclosure. Alternatively or in addition, thegenerator 81 may directly feed the power consuming components in thedevice 80 without using any electrical energy storage device such as therechargeable battery 36. Such generator 81 may be based on convertingkinetic energy harvested from the device 80 motion, which may be causedby a human or animal activity, to electrical energy. Such generator 81is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,692,320 to Lemieux titled: “ElectricalEnergy Generator”, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,877 to Tiemann titled:“Apparatus for Converting Vibratory Motion to Electrical Energy”, inU.S. Pat. No. 7,847,421 to Gardner et al. titled: “System for GeneratingElectrical Energy from Ambient Motion” and in U.S. Patent Application2007/0210580 to Robets et al. titled: “Electromechanical Generator for,and Method of, Converting Mechanical Vibrational Energy into ElectricalEnergy”, as well as a battery-shaped generator described in U.S. Pat.No. 7,688,036 to Yarger et al. titled: “System and Method for StoringEnergy”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposesas if fully set forth herein. In the case of a device 80 shaped as aball and used for ball gaming such as ball 40 described in FIGS. 4 a and4 b , the game commonly involves moving the ball, such providing kineticenergy that can be used to power feed the ball power-consumingcomponents. In this case, the battery 45 may be replaced by thebattery-shaped generator such as described by Yarger et al.

While the invention was exampled in FIGS. 5 a-5 c above with regard to adirect and conductive charging, thus requiring connectors 58 and 54 tobe engaged, in one example a contactless charging is used, such as byusing inductive coupling where the energy is transferred using anelectromagnetic field. In inductive coupling a charging station sendsenergy using a transmitter induction coil to the device to be charged,which includes a receiving induction coil inductively coupled to thetransmitter coil. The received power is commonly used to charge arechargeable battery in the device. In such a configuration there is noneed for any connectors or for connector engagement, thus making it easyto use, impermeable to water and dirt and with improved shape and look.A device 85 capable of inductive charging is shown in FIG. 8 a . Thereceiving coil 87 is designed to receive energy when properly positionedin an electromagnetic field. The received signal is rectified byrectifier 86 and further processed or conditioned as required. Theelectric power is then feeding the battery charger 37 which charges thesecondary cell 36. Contactless battery charging systems are described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,208,115 to Binder titled: “Battery Substitute Pack”, inU.S. Pat. No. 7,863,859 to Soar titled: “Contactless Battery ChargingApparel”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,872,445 to Ron Hui titled: “rechargeableBattery Powered Portable Electronic Device”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,906,936to Azancot et al. titled: “rechargeable Inductive Charger”, in U.S. Pat.No. 7,863,861 to Cheng et al. titled: “Contact-Less Power Transfer” andin U.S. Pat. No. 7,876,067 to Greenfeld et al. titled: “High FrequencyConnector-Less Charging Scheme”, which are all incorporated in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

An example of a ball 79 capable of contactless inductive charging and acharging station 72 is shown in FIGS. 7 a-7 e . The ball 70 comprises areceiving coil 73 (corresponding to inductor 87), connected via wires 74a and 74 b to the PCB 77, which is carrying the required electroniccircuits (such as rectifier 86 and battery charger 37), hence when thecoil 73 is in the electromagnetic field generated by the charger 72, therechargeable battery 45 is charged. The charger 72 includes a coil 75which generates the electromagnetic field, and is fed from the AC powerby the AC/DC converter 52 having prongs 57 a and 57 b, feeding thecharger 72 via the cable 59. The ball 79 is exampled having an audibleannunciator and a cover 71 similar to the ball 60 shown in FIGS. 6 a-6 b. Thus when the ball 79 is placed on the charger 72 such that the coils73 and 75 are inductively coupled to each other, energy for charging thebattery 45 is received from the charger 72. FIG. 7 a shows a view 70 ofthe charging system 72 and the ball 79 where the coil 73 is shownseparated from the ball 79 housing, FIG. 7 b shows a view 70 a of a cutin the ball 79 when placed on the charger 72 for charging, FIG. 7 cshows a view 70 b of the charging system 72 and the ball 79 where thecoil 73 and the cover 71 are shown separated from the ball 79 housing,FIG. 7 d shows a cut view of the ball 79 and FIG. 7 e shows a view 70 cof the closed ball 79 placed on the charger 72 for charging.

Handheld Device.

In an aspect of the invention, a handheld device 100 is used, asdescribed in FIGS. 10-10 d. FIG. 10 shows an exploded view of thehandheld device 100, FIGS. 10 a, 10 b and 10 c respectively shows front105 a, side 105 b and rear 105 c views of the handheld device 100, andFIG. 10 d shows a view 105 d of the device 100 held in a hand 102.Similar to the ball 60 described in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b , the handhelddevice 100 comprises a cover 101 (similar to the cover 61 of ball 60).The handheld device 100 includes two thin, flat, circular plates(‘disks’) mechanically attached to the ends of a long thin cylinder rod,thus allowing easy gripping in a palm. While shown with the loudspeaker64, any type of annunciator 13 may be equally used. Another example of ahandheld device including an accelerometer and used for control isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,774,155 to Sato et al. titled:“Accelerometer-Based Controller”, which is incorporated in its entiretyfor all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In one example, the direction of device 100 such as its tilt is used toactivate or control the annunciator 13, such as the amount of theinclination or bending from a vertical position as sensed by the motionsensor 11, which can be a tilt detector. FIGS. 11 a and 11 brespectively show the views 110 a and 110 b of the device 100 in varioustilt positions. In view 110 a, the handheld device 100 axis 112 a isshown tilted by angle 1 113 a left from the vertical 111, while in view110 b, the handheld device 100 axis 112 b is shown tilted by angle 2 113b right from the vertical 111. The tilting angle (such as angle 1 113 a)is sensed by the motion sensor 46, and the loudspeaker 64 (correspondingto an annunciator 13), is activated or controlled according to thesensed tilt angle, such as its sign (right or left) or its value. Forexample, the tone sounded from the loudspeaker 64 may correspond to thetilting angle.

Further, the acceleration magnitude sensed may also be used incombination to the sensed tilt angle to control the annunciator 13. Forexample, the handheld device 100 may be used as a musical instrument. Inthis case, the tilt angle may correspond to the type of sound heard, andthe acceleration sensed in that direction may correspond to the soundvolume. In an example, the tilt angle corresponds with a musical note,where the tilt angle range +50 degrees to +40 degrees will affect themusical note ‘DO’, the tilt angle range +40 degrees to +30 degrees willaffect the musical note ‘RE’, the tilt angle range +30 degrees to +20degrees will affect the musical note ‘MI’ and so forth. A hit (such assensed acceleration magnitude passing a threshold) will result in theplaying of the note associated with that tilt angle, while the soundingvolume may also be controlled by acceleration magnitude. The soundproduced by such devices can emulate the sounds of any conventionalacoustical music instruments, such as a piano, tuba, harp, violin,flute, guitar and so forth. In one example, the device can further beshaped as a miniature of the music instrument associated with itsemitted sound.

While the invention has been exampled above with regarding to aball-shaped device such as ball 60 in FIG. 6 a or as handheld devicesuch as device 100 in FIGS. 10 a-10 c , any enclosure may be equallyused. For example, a rectangular cross-section box with all sides flat(or substantially flat) may be used. Similarly, the box used may have(or be based on) a cross section (horizontal or vertical) that issquare, elongated, round or oval; sloped or domed top surfaces, ornon-vertical sides. Similarly, the shape of a cube or right rectangularprism can be used, or can be based upon. A horizontal or verticalcircular cross section can be used (or be based upon) such as simplegeometric shapes such as a, cylinder, sphere, cone, pyramid and torus.The device shape may be amorphous, abstract, organic, conceptual,virtual, irregular, regular, figurative, biomorphic, geometric,partially geometric, conventional, unconventional, symmetric andasymmetric. Similarly, the design can be abstract, symbolic, conceptual,virtual, realistic, relating to fantasy or dreams, and representational.Further, the devices and the connecting and attaching scheme can bedesigned and fabricated to fit any age and ability. Furthermore, thedevice can be fabricated of natural, man-made, composite and recycledmaterial, such as paper, fabric, metal, wood, stone, rubber, foam,nylon, synthetic polymers, synthetic fibers, hard vinyl, polyamides,reciprocal and plastic. The device may be hollow or filled. Further, adevice may have any suitably rigid, flexible, bendable, multi-sided,electronic, digital, magnetic, stationary, moving, mechanical,reciprocal, sensory-related section, including a mechanism such asactivation point, button and switch.

The manner of play using the device according to the invention may befor diversified ages; diversified abilities; diversified approaches;specified age; specified ability; specified approach; creative;artistic; music-oriented; puzzle; recreational; educational;therapeutic; stage-oriented; level-oriented; family-oriented;age-appropriate; selective; thematic; turn indicated; timing indicated;scoring indicated; hierarchical; sequential; matching; choice; accordingto players, direction, playing order, number of players, teams;procedure indicated; having emission; introductory; junior; standard;intermediate; advanced; professional; numerical; alphabetical;identifying; positioning; pre-determined; improvisational; exchangeable;sharing; rotating; variable; same, different, switch, story, andcustomize-able.

While the invention has been exampled above with regard to a payloadincluding an annunciator providing visual or audible signaling, it willbe appreciated that the invention equally applies to a payload adaptedto perform other functions, such as physical movement or other motivefunctions (e.g., pop-up figure). For example, the payload may includemotors, winches, fans, reciprocating elements, extending or retracting,and energy conversion elements. In addition, heaters or coolers may beused. Each of the actuator or movement appearance, location, color,type, shape and functionality may be conceptually related to the devicetheme (such as image or shape). Further, the payload may include anindicator for indicating free-form, shape, form, amorphous, abstract,conceptual, representational, organic, biomorphic, partially geometric,conventional, unconventional, multi-sided, natural, figurative,recognizable concept, geometric, amorphous, abstract, organic, virtual,irregular, regular, biomorphic, conventional, unconventional, symmetric,asymmetric, man-made, composite, geometric, letter, number, code, andsymbol. Furthermore, the payload may be indicating associatedinformation such as indicia, indicator, theme indicator, turn indicator,timing indicator, game piece indicator, emission indicator, emissiondevice, playing area indicator, scoring indicator, and procedureindicator. Further, the device may include sensors that will be part ofthe formed electrical circuit, such as photocells, voltage or currentdetectors, pressure detectors or motion detector and manually orautomatically operated switches. Each of the sensor appearance,location, color, type, shape and functionality may be conceptuallyrelated to the device theme (such as image or shape).

The term “processor” is meant to include any integrated circuit or otherelectronic device (or collection of devices) capable of performing anoperation on at least one instruction including, without limitation,Reduced Instruction Set Core (RISC) processors, CISC microprocessors,Microcontroller Units (MCUs), CISC-based Central Processing Units(CPUs), and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). The hardware of suchdevices may be integrated onto a single substrate (e.g., silicon “die”),or distributed among two or more substrates. Furthermore, variousfunctional aspects of the processor may be implemented solely assoftware or firmware associated with the processor.

As used herein, the terms “program”, “programmable”, “software”,“firmware” and “computer program” are meant to include any sequence orhuman or machine cognizable steps which perform a function. Such programmay be rendered in virtually any programming language or environmentincluding, for example, C/C++, Fortran, COBOL, PASCAL, assemblylanguage, markup languages (e.g., HTML, SGML, XML, VoXML), and the like,as well as object-oriented environments such as the Common ObjectRequest Broker Architecture (CORBA), Java™ (including J2ME, Java Beans,etc.) and the like, as well as in firmware or other implementations.Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

All publications, standards, patents, and patent applications cited inthis specification are herein incorporated by reference as if eachindividual publication, patent, or patent application were specificallyand individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forthin its entirety herein.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, anymechanical attachment between any two or more physical components mayuse means such as elastic straps, hook and loop fastener straps orpatches, screws, bolts, adhesives, clips, clamps, carabineers, or anycombination thereof.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word“comprise’ and variations of that word such as “comprises” and“comprising”, is not intended to exclude other additives, components,integers or steps. Throughout the description and claims of thisspecification, the word “couple’ and variations of that word such as“coupling”, “coupled” and “couplable” refers to an electrical connection(such as a copper wire or soldered connection), a logical connection(such as through logical devices of a semiconductor device), a virtualconnection (such as through randomly assigned memory locations of amemory device) or any other suitable direct or indirect connections, forexample allowing for the transfer of power, signal or data.

Discussions herein utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “establishing”, “analyzing”,“checking”, or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) ofa computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or otherelectronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform datarepresented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within thecomputer's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer's registersand/or memories or other information storage medium that may storeinstructions to perform operations and/or processes.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the root terms “include”and/or “have”, when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof. The terms “plurality” and “a plurality” as usedherein includes, for example, “multiple” or “two or more”. For example,“a plurality of items” includes two or more items. The term “softwareintegration” or integration of two programs or processes herein refersto software components (e.g. programs, modules, functions, processesetc.) that are (directly or via another component) combined, working orfunctioning together or form a whole, commonly for sharing a commonpurpose or set of objectives. Such software integration can take theform of sharing the same program code, exchanging data, being managed bythe same manager program, executed by the same processor, stored on thesame medium, sharing the same GUI or another user interface, sharingperipheral hardware (such as a monitor, printer, keyboard and memory),sharing data or a database, or being part of a single package. The term“hardware integration” or integration of hardware components hereinrefers to hardware components that are (directly or via anothercomponent) combined, working or functioning together or form a whole,commonly for sharing a common purpose or set of objectives. Suchhardware integration can take the form of sharing the same power source(or power supply) or sharing other resources, exchanging data or control(e.g. by communicating), being managed by the same manager, physicallyconnected or attached, sharing peripheral hardware connection (such as amonitor, printer, keyboard and memory), being part of a single packageor mounted in a single enclosure (or any other physical collocating),sharing a communication port, or used or controlled with the samesoftware or hardware. The term “integration” herein refers (asapplicable) to a software integration, a hardware integration or acombination.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 25 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as storage device 23. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, suchas main memory 22. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copperwire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 24.Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves,such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red datacommunications. A computer readable signal medium may include apropagated data signal with computer readable program code embodiedtherein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such apropagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but notlimited to, electromagnetic, optical, or any suitable combinationthereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readablemedium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that cancommunicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Hash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 25 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 20 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 24. Bus 24 carries the data to mainmemory 22, from which processor 25 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 22 may optionallybe stored on storage device 23 either before or after execution byprocessor 25.

Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have been presentedin terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations ondata bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the ways used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasonsof common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, itis appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments of the present invention also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by acomputer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may bestored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is notlimited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks,CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), randomaccess memories (RAMs), Erasable Programmable ROMs (EPROMs),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), magnetic or opticalcards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the required method operations. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will appear from thedescription below. In addition, embodiments of the present invention arenot described with reference to any particular programming language. Itwill be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be usedto implement the teachings of embodiments of the invention as describedherein.

A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes read onlymemory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storagemedia; optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc.).

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have beendescribed with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. Itwill be evident that various modifications may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than arestrictive sense.

Those of skill in the art will understand that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in any number of waysincluding electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations ofboth. The various illustrative components, blocks, modules and circuitshave been described generally in terms of their functionality. Whetherthe functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends uponthe particular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans recognize the interchangeability of hardwareand software under these circumstances, and how best to implement thedescribed functionality for each particular application. As will beappreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present inventionmay be embodied as a system, method or computer program product.Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer programproduct embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) havingcomputer readable program code embodied thereon.

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computerprogram instructions may also be stored in a computer readable mediumthat can direct a computer, other programmable data processingapparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, suchthat the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement thefunction/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devicesto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, this should not be construed to limit the scope of theappended claims Those skilled in the art will understand thatmodifications may be made to the described embodiments. Moreover, tothose skilled in the various arts, the invention itself herein willsuggest solutions to other tasks and adaptations for other applications.It is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered inall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being madeto the appended claims rather than the foregoing description to indicatethe scope of the invention.

As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the methodsdescribed above generally reside on one or more general purposecomputing devices which operate under the control of computer executableinstructions. The general purpose computing device need not be limitedto computers and servers but may include hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable customerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.Furthermore, the computer executable instructions may include routines,programs, objects, components, and/or data structures that performparticular tasks. Within the network, the computer executableinstructions may reside on a single general purpose computing device orthe tasks performed by the computer executable instructions may bedistributed among a plurality of the general purpose computing devices.

In addition, in this disclosure, certain process steps are set forth ina particular order, and alphabetic and alphanumeric labels are used toidentify certain steps. Unless specifically stated in the disclosure,embodiments of the invention are not limited to any particular order ofcarrying out such steps. In particular, the labels are used merely forconvenient identification of steps, and are not intended to imply,specify or require a particular order of carrying out such steps.Furthermore, other embodiments may use more or less steps than thosediscussed herein.

As used herein, the term “integrated circuit” shall include any type ofintegrated device of any function, whether single or multiple die, orsmall or large scale of integration, and irrespective of process or basematerials (including, without limitation Si, SiGe, CMOS and GAs)including without limitation applications specific integrated circuits(ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital processors(e.g., DSPs, CISC microprocessors, or RISC processors), so-called“system-on-a-chip” (SoC) devices, memory (e.g., DRAM, SRAM, flashmemory, ROM), mixed-signal devices, and analog ICs.

It will be appreciated that the aforementioned features and advantagesare presented solely by way of example. Accordingly, the foregoingshould not be construed or interpreted to constitute, in any way, anexhaustive enumeration of features and advantages of embodiments of thepresent invention.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans plus function elements in the claims below are intended to includeany structure, or material, for performing the function in combinationwith other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description ofthe present invention has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to theinvention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen anddescribed in order to best explain the principles of the invention andthe practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in theart to understand the invention for various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

1. A method comprising: generating, by a heater that is configured foraffecting a temperature change, a smoke; visually signaling, to aperson, by a signaling component that comprises, consists of, or isbased on, a visible light emitter; controlling, by software that isexecuted by a processor, the heater and the signaling component;powering, the processor, the heater, and the signaling component, by arechargeable battery; and charging, the battery by a battery chargerthat is power fed by DC power carried on a cable that is connectable viaa connector, wherein the battery, the processor, the heater, theconnector, the battery charger, and the signaling component are enclosedin a housing that is dimensioned and shaped as a hand-held housing. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the housing is cylinder or coneshaped.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the housing issubstantially shaped in horizontal or vertical cross-section aselongated or oval.
 4. The method according to claim 1, further for usewith a container in the housing that contains a liquid mixture, whereinthe generating comprises vaporizing the liquid mixture.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising contactless charging, by abattery charger in the housing, the rechargeable battery.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the contactless charging isinduction-based, wherein the battery charger comprises, or consists of,an induction coil for inductively receiving AC power when in anelectromagnetic field, and wherein the charging comprises charging therechargeable battery from the received AC power.
 7. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising communicating over a wireless network,wherein the signaling comprises signaling to a person in response todata received over the wireless network, and wherein the generating ofthe smoke comprises generating in response to data received over thewireless network.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein thewireless network is a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN).
 9. Themethod according to claim 8, wherein the wireless network uses Bluetoothprotocol according to IEEE 802.15.1 standard.
 10. The method accordingto claim 7, wherein the wireless network is a Wireless Local AreaNetwork (WLAN).
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein thewireless network uses WLAN protocol according to IEEE 802.11 standard.12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising producing, by anaccelerometer attached to the housing, an output signal responsive to anacceleration or position of the housing.
 13. The method according toclaim 12, wherein the signaling comprises signaling to a person inresponse to the output signal, or wherein the generating comprisesgenerating of smoke in response to the output signal.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the accelerometer comprises, consists of,uses, or is based on, a piezoelectric, piezoresistive, capacitive,Micro-mechanical Electrical Systems (MEMS), or electromechanicalaccelerometer.
 15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the outputsignal is responsive to a magnitude or a direction of the housingacceleration or position, and the accelerometer is a single-axis,two-axis, or a three-axis accelerometer.
 16. The method according toclaim 15, wherein the housing further comprising a compartmentmechanically secured to the housing for enclosing at least therechargeable battery and a securely removable cover for covering thecompartment, so that when the cover is removed the compartment isaccessible at least for replacing the rechargeable battery.
 17. Themethod according to claim 15, wherein the signaling comprises emitting avisible light that indicates a first status to the person.
 18. Themethod according to claim 17, wherein the visible light emittercomprises, consists of, or is based on, a semiconductor component, anincandescent lamp, or a fluorescent lamp.
 19. The method according toclaim 17, wherein the visible light emitter comprises, consists of, oris based on, a Light Emitting Diode (LED).
 20. The method according toclaim 19, wherein the LED is a multi-color LED operative to illuminatein multiple colors.
 21. The method according to claim 17, wherein thevisible light emitter consists of, or comprises, a numerical display fordisplaying one or more digits representing a number.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 21, wherein the numerical display comprises, consistsof, or uses, a seven-segments display.
 23. The method according to claim17, wherein the visible light emitter consists of, or comprises, analphanumeric display for displaying characters, numbers, letters, orsymbols.
 24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the alphanumericdisplay is operative to display scrolling, static, or flashing words orcharacters.
 25. The method according to claim 17, wherein the visiblelight emitter consists of, or comprises, a flat-panel digital displayfor displaying graphical or text information.
 26. The method accordingto claim 25, wherein the digital display is based on, comprises, oruses, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Thin-Film Transistor (TFT), or aField Emission Display (FED) display.
 27. The method according to claim1, further comprising emitting, by an audible signaling component in thehousing, an audible sound that indicates a first status to the person.28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the audible signalingcomponent comprises, or uses, an electro-mechanical transducer, anelectro-acoustical transducer, or a piezoelectric sounder.
 29. Themethod according to claim 28, wherein the audible signaling componentcomprises, or uses, a loudspeaker, and the housing further comprises amemory storing the audible sound in a digital form, and a digital toanalog converter coupled between the memory and the loudspeaker forreproducing, by the loudspeaker, the stored audible sound.
 30. Themethod according to claim 27, wherein the audible signaling componentconsists of, comprises, or uses, a buzzer, a chime, a whistler, or aringer, and wherein the emitted audible sound comprises a single tone,multiple tones, a melody, or music.
 31. The method according to claim 1,further comprising communicating with, and for being controlled by, aportable electronic device that is external to the housing, using amodem in the housing.
 32. The method according to claim 31, wherein themodem is coupled to the processor.
 33. The method according to claim 31,wherein the portable electronic device comprises a notebook computer, alaptop computer, a media player, a cellular telephone, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a video recorder, or anycombination thereof.
 34. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising producing, by a sensor that is in the housing and that iscoupled to the processor, an output signal responsive to a physicalphenomenon.
 35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the signalingcomprises signaling to a person in response to the sensor output signal,or wherein the generating comprises generating of smoke in in responseto the sensor output signal.
 36. The method according to claim 34,wherein the sensor is a light sensor, force sensor, or pressure sensor.37. The method according to claim 34, wherein the sensor is a lightsensor that comprises one or more photocells.
 38. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising generating a consistent smoke plume. 39.The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating comprisesvaporizing a mixture.
 40. The method according to claim 1, further foruse with a chimney in the housing, wherein the generating comprisesforcing a vaporized mixture to be expelled into the chimney.
 41. Themethod according to claim 1, for use with a timer for measuring a timeinterval, the method further comprising measuring, by the timer, a timeinterval between two sensed events sensed, and activating or controllingthe signaling component in response to the time interval.
 42. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising affecting, by an electricmotor, a physical movement.
 43. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising switching DC power, by a controlled switch under control ofthe processor, from the rechargeable battery to a controlled component.44. The method according to claim 43, wherein the controlled componentcomprises, or consists of, the signaling component, or wherein thecontrolled component comprises, or consists of, the heater.
 45. Themethod according to claim 44, wherein the controlled switch is based on,comprises, or using, an electro-mechanical relay, a solid-state relay,or an optocouplers.
 46. The method according to claim 44, furthercomprising generating, by a sensor that is coupled to the processor, anoutput signal responsive to a physical phenomenon, wherein the switchingcomprises switching in response to the sensor output signal.
 47. Themethod according to claim 44, further comprising affecting, by thecontrolled component, a physical movement.
 48. The method according toclaim 47, wherein the controlled component is a motor or a fan.
 49. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the generating comprises by heatinga wire.
 50. The method according to claim 49, wherein the wirecomprises, or consists of, a nickel chromium wire.